Chapter 8: Names
Early the next morning, Mikage was headed for the stairs when she encountered Axel and Larxene at the bottom. The latter was showing off her Organization coat to the former, twirling around as she did so. Mikage smiled; it reminded her of when Relena was starting high school a year ahead of them and was showing off her uniform. She thought it was cute that she still did that. "Morning, Lea! Looking good, senpai!" she greeted them.
Larxene scowled at her and strode away, the clacking sound of her heels echoing throughout the stairwell.
"It's Axel. Get it memorized," Axel advised.
"Oh. Right." It's not like you're going to call me by my name either.
Simultaneously, at the top of the stairs, Vexen ran from the lab, urgently looking for Xemnas. The first person he saw, however, was Xigbar. "Xigbar, have you seen the Superior?"
"The Superior, you say? Hmm. Have I seen him?" Xigbar sounded like he was trying to remember, but what he was really doing was wasting Vexen's time.
"Well? Do you know where he is or not?" Vexen asked again impatiently.
"I know where he's not," Xigbar said finally.
"Don't tell half-baked jokes like that!" Vexen pushed past him on the stairs and hurried on his way.
Mid-way up the stairs, Zexion was making his way up to the research room, which was next to the lab. He heard Vexen running down the stairs before he saw him. "Zexion!"
Zexion made a face like the following encounter was going to be a pain. "What is it?"
"Zexion, do you know where the Superior is?"
"He's in his usual place."
"The Chamber of Sleep?" Vexen said irritably. Zexion nodded. "He would be there at a time like this."
"If it's so important, why don't you go there and ask him?"
"Don't be absurd!" Vexen knew that bothering Xemnas in the Chamber of Sleep was sure to result in being turned into a Dusk, as did Zexion. Vexen continued down the stairs, muttering angrily to himself the whole way.
Zexion did not take more than two steps before someone called his name again. "He seemed to have his panties in a twist, didn't he, Zexion-dono?" Xigbar jumped down from the next landing and stood next to him.
"Don't you have work to do?" As much of a pain as Vexen could be, Xigbar was unbearably annoying. At least he's started calling me -dono instead of -bocchan, Zexion thought. Despite that, it's always been like he's looking down on me...Although, he acts that way toward almost everyone, so it just must be his personality.
"Lexaeus is covering for me today so I can be rested up for tomorrow. Besides, I earned my keep the other day when I brought in that Number XI guy, Mar-something."
"Marluxia," Zexion reminded him. Does he really not care what their names are?
"Right. Glad you're staying on top of things, Zexion-dono! That's just like you."
Whatever, condescending jerk. "Enjoy your nap. I've still got work to do today."
Zexion started to walk away again, but Xigbar wasn't done with him. "Don't go yet," Xigbar said, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder. "I just wanted us to have a nice little chat."
I thought we just did, Zexion wanted to say, but he knew better, just like he knew that when Xigbar had his arm around him like this, it was no use trying to escape. He wanted to ignore his rambling, but if Xigbar saw that Zexion wasn't paying attention to him, there was no telling what he would do to him. Either way, the next few minutes were going to be very uncomfortable and drag on for what would seem like an eternity.
On her way up the staircase, Mikage encountered Vexen next. "Good morning, Even-san," she said.
"Hello," he said uncertainly. "You're supposed to call me Vexen now, remember?"
"Very well. You do seem vexed."
"Why does everyone have a joke today?" Vexen grumbled before continuing down the stairs in a huff, complaining about the snark of some people.
The truth was that she was just trying to find ways of remembering their new names. What she hadn't realized at first was that he had passed both Xigbar and Zexion on his way down. She looked up and saw them on the next landing talking together - well, Xigbar was doing most of the talking while Zexion just stood there looking like he wanted nothing more than to extricate himself from the situation. In order to save him, she decided to yell a greeting from where she was before joining them. "Hey you two! Good morning to you!"
"Morning, Musume!" Xigbar shouted back.
"Her name's Mikage," Zexion said.
"It was a joke. Maybe you're too young to get it. Oh well. What's up, Mikage-chan?"
Mikage made it to the landing. "Nothing much. What about you, Braigo-san? Ienzo-chan?"
"How many times have I asked you not to call me that?" Zexion complained.
"Sorry. Zexion...chan?"
"Ha! Little Zexy," Xigbar laughed, pinching Zexion's cheek.
Zexion looked perturbed but held his composure. "Stop..."
"But I don't see why we can't use our real names when it's just us. Isa and Lea do it all the time."
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna tattle," Xigbar assured her. "What are you doing out of your cage anyway?"
"Since I don't leave the castle, Xehanort-"
"Xemnas," Zexion corrected her. "Or the Superior."
"He's given up on trying to keep me in there. I'm more concerned about you, Braig. I don't understand how you get away with mouthing off to him in the first place."
Xigbar shrugged, as if trying to forget the incident that had scarred his face. "I do what I'm told without question now, so I guess he lets it slide. If he ever stops though, ugh, it's not gonna be pretty. Well...nap time for me. You kids play nice."
"If we can teleport, why do we bother with the stairs?" Mikage asked after Xigbar teleported away.
"I'm not going that far," Zexion said, continuing up the stairs.
"Where are you going?"
"That's my business." He knew she'd probably read it from his mind anyway if she really wanted to know. This is getting bothersome.
She changed subjects. "Speaking of bothersome, do you agree with what Braig said earlier?" She'd heard part of the conversation in which Xigbar had referred to Ansem the Wise as bothersome.
Zexion stopped again and sighed. "I don't know. I really don't want to think about it. Every time I do, my chest gets tight." Their estrangement from Ansem wasn't a subject he could easily ponder, especially without a heart. It was a never-ending cycle of inner turmoil with no outlet.
"If Nobodies had hearts I would weep for days." Zexion stared at her. She was an odd one, to be sure. "Why did you stand up for me before?"
"Because I..." Zexion tried to come up with the right words without incriminating himself. "I thought I had to do something. I couldn't let you be turned into a Dusk."
"You could've been turned into a Dusk too for your trouble."
"I know."
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it." You would have done the same for me. "Can you do me a favor, though?"
"What?"
"Could you bring me some food later? I'm going to be up in the research room all day and I'll probably forget to go down and get it myself."
"Of course."
"Thanks, nee-san."
"What'd you call me?"
"Uh, I said Kage-san." Embarrassed at his slip-up, he opened a portal directly into the research room and vanished.
A few hours later, Mikage went to the kitchen and found Xaldin there. "Thought you'd be locked up," Xaldin said to her.
"I'm out on parole. Zexion asked me to bring him something to eat while he's working."
"I'll make it. You still smell like cleaning solvent."
"Xaldin, Xaldin, Xaldy Xaldy Xaldin," Mikage said to herself, trying not to call him Dilan anymore. It still annoyed him though.
"You are severely odd," he said, shaking his head. "By the way, why do you use -san for me and -kun for Lexaeus?"
"His name ends with S, so it's just easier to say -kun after it."
"You know, I wouldn't mind it if you used -kun for me too."
"O-okay."
"Say it."
"Xaldin...kun."
"Again."
"Xaldin-kun." For some reason it made her blush. Saying "Dilan-kun" after he'd finished packing the food walked away made it even worse.
"What's with the face?" Braig asked, raiding the fridge.
"Xaldin said I should use -kun with his name from now on."
"He's such a ladykiller," Braig scoffed. "All during academy training, when the three of us would go out to the tavern, he'd get all the attention. Don't listen to that guy."
Mikage didn't think she had a crush on Xaldin. All the girls at school would talk about how handsome he was. She was just feeling awkward because she got to use a familiar honorific with the cool guy.
Xigbar took his snack and paid Vexen a visit in the lab. "Whatcha got there?" he asked, crunching his apple right in Vexen's ear.
"You know full well what," Vexen snapped, not wanting to be disturbed.
"The replica project, right?"
"Indeed."
Xigbar chuckled to himself.
"Is there something humorous about it?"
"Your job is to play with dolls!" Xigbar choked out, laughing hysterically and slamming his fist on the table.
"If you think that's all it is, then you are sadly misguided!" Vexen yelled, mortified.
"Then can I read your report?" He reached around Vexen for the neatly stacked and labelled dossiers, but Vexen slapped his hand away.
"Only the Superior may read those."
"I'll just look at 'em later, like how I used to copy your notes in school without you knowing."
"I wondered how you were able to get into the same schools as me."
"I'm not stupid. It's not like I copied your test answers or anything. I just needed a little help to get over the hump."
"I would have been more inclined to help if you had bothered to pay the slightest bit of attention in class yourself!"
"Now where's the sense in that? If I didn't understand all of it, I sure as hell wasn't going bother to write down any of it since I'd get it from you later!"
In the research room next door, Zexion listened as their bickering quickly escalated to Vexen threatening Xigbar with various tools. He decided to ignore it, a practiced skill of his against these two since before they were Nobodies. Sighing, he focused on what was on the screen in front of him. Before, the me who researched and had a heart thought he understood a little of what a heart was. The uplifting feelings from the time I had a heart, engraved in my memories, cannot be felt anymore. Now I can only remember, and work hard to try and taste it once again. He turned around as he sensed two other Nobodies appear behind him - Lexaeus and Mikage. "I found that book you were looking for the other day," Lexaeus said, handing it over to him.
"Thank you, Lexaeus." He was by far Zexion's favorite in the Organization and the only one he knew he could depend on; Lexaeus held him in the same regard.
"And I brought you dinner," Mikage added, offering him a tupperware container. "Dilan - I mean, Xaldin made it. He said my hands reeked of chemicals and wouldn't let me touch anything in the kitchen."
"They do, but thanks." He noticed she was making an effort to remember their new names, even if it annoyed them in the process. Despite her awkwardness, she had always meant well.
Mikage looked in the direction of the lab as Xigbar screamed like Vexen was murdering him. "Should we...?"
"It's best not to get involved," Lexaeus said.
Then it suddenly went silent. Mikage looked at the lab questioningly again. "I'm sure he's alive," Zexion said off-handedly. "He probably just bolted."
"Try not to stay up too late," Lexaeus reminded him, ushering Mikage through a dark portal.
Even if I do, you'll just come and get me. It had been their routine since he was a child. Perhaps the fact that they continued to do so was unreasonable, a reflection of a relationship that should no longer exist, but the memories they shared remained strong. It shouldn't have been possible without a heart. It baffled him, but he decided not to question it.
No comments:
Post a Comment